Matt Fradd
Spirituality/Belief • Books • Writing
This PWA community exists to facilitate an online community of PWA listeners and all lovers of philosophy and theology.
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St. Thomas Aquinas and C.S. Lewis on Friendship

A short excerpt from St. Thomas Aquinas from his short work, De regno ad regem Cypri (On Kingship To The King of Cyprus).

First of all, among all worldly things there is nothing which seems worthy to be preferred to friendship. Friendship unites good men and preserves and promotes virtue. Friendship is needed by all men in whatsoever occupations they engage. In prosperity it does not thrust itself unwanted upon us, nor does it desert us in adversity. It is what brings with it the greatest delight, to such an extent that all that pleases is changed to weariness when friends are absent, and all difficult things are made easy and as nothing by love.

Here also is an excerpt from C.S. Lewis on Friendship:

In a perfect Friendship this Appreciative love is, I think, often so great and so firmly based that each member of the circle feels, in his secret heart, humbled before the rest. Sometimes he wonders what he is doing there among his betters. He is lucky beyond desert to be in such company. Especially when the whole group is together; each bringing out all that is best, wisest, or funniest in all the others. Those are the golden sessions; when four or five of us after a hard day’s walk have come to our inn; when our slippers are on, our feet spread out toward the blaze and our drinks are at our elbows; when the whole world, and something beyond the world, opens itself to our minds as we talk; and no one has any claim on or any responsibility for another, but all are freemen and equals as if we had first met an hour ago, while at the same time an Affection mellowed by the years enfolds us. Life — natural life — has no better gift to give. Who could have deserved it? (The Four Loves)

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December 10, 2025
Christmas with Dr. Scott Hahn | Tracing the Fulfillment of Prophecies

To most, the Incarnation is so familiar that we have lost touch with what a scandal the manger would have been in its time.

In this Advent and Christmas episode, Matt Fradd welcomes Biblical scholar, Dr. Scott Hahn, to examine prophetic texts of the Old Testament that lay the ground for the arrival of the Christ child, covenants that prepared the way, and the earth shattering reality of God becoming an embryo.

Together they uncover the layers and depth of the Christmas scriptures and God's plan for you, while exploring typology, the significance of Mary's role in salvation history, and the meaning of the manger. EP. 00

Get 40% off the Ignatious Catholic Study Bible now HERE:
https://stpaulcenter.com/store/ignatius-catholic-study-bible-old-and-new-testaments

Why Do We Identify with Charlie Kirk? - Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.

In the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, many people have experienced a profound dismay. We didn't know him, and yet the events of the past week have really thrown us for a loop. Why exactly is that? And what is to be learned from the experience?

Also, I have a new book out. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Eucharistic-Identity-Sacramental-Fullness/dp/162164796X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ELJ81ZJUVT1G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HRZlgfwsmxjGFj1ePRw-OgluBhzhKL7XiQCNKyHEK_s.V0RluCVNmFRjkIZWue1otfyktDPiZN_QnWrjE_LTPtU&dib_tag=se&keywords=your+eucharistic+identity+gregory+pine&qid=1756821967&sprefix=your+eucharistic+%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1

00:19:09
Where Should I Live? On Cultivating Intentional Community - Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.

A lot of folks have to decide, at one point or another, where they are going to live and what parish they are going to attend. At times you might be torn between growing where you're planted and moving to where you're nourished. I was in Tulsa this past weekend with a really excellent community, and it sparked some though on the theme.

Also, I have a new book out. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Eucharistic-Identity-Sacramental-Fullness/dp/162164796X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ELJ81ZJUVT1G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HRZlgfwsmxjGFj1ePRw-OgluBhzhKL7XiQCNKyHEK_s.V0RluCVNmFRjkIZWue1otfyktDPiZN_QnWrjE_LTPtU&dib_tag=se&keywords=your+eucharistic+identity+gregory+pine&qid=1756821967&sprefix=your+eucharistic+%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1

00:19:28
Simple NEW Lofi Song

Working on an entire album of lofi music. Here's one of those songs. Album should drop next week. THEN, a couple of weeks after that we hope to have our 24/7 stream up and running.

Simple NEW Lofi Song
December 01, 2022
Day 5 of Advent

THE ERROR OF ARIUS ABOUT THE INCARNATION

In their eagerness to proclaim the unity of God and man in Christ, some heretics went to the opposite extreme and taught that not only was there one person, but also a single nature, in God and man. This error took its rise from Arius. To defend his position that those scriptural passages where Christ is represented as being inferior to the Father, must refer to the Son of God Himself, regarded in His assuming nature, Arius taught that in Christ there is no other soul than the Word of God who, he maintained, took the place of the soul in Christ’s body. Thus when Christ says, in John 14:28, “The Father is greater than I,” or when He is introduced as praying or as being sad, such matters are to be referred to the very nature of the Son of God. If this were so, the union of God’s Son with man would be effected not only in the person, but also in the nature. For, as we know, the unity of human nature arises from the union of soul and body.

The...

Day 5 of Advent
November 27, 2022
Day 1 of Advent

RESTORATION OF MAN BY GOD THROUGH THE INCARNATION

We indicated above that the reparation of human nature could not be effected either by Adam or by any other purely human being. For no individual man ever occupied a position of pre-eminence over the whole of nature; nor can any mere man be the cause of grace. The same reasoning shows that not even an angel could be the author of man’s restoration. An angel cannot be the cause of grace, just as he cannot be man’s recompense with regard to the ultimate perfection of beatitude, to which man was to be recalled. In this matter of beatitude angels and men are on a footing of equality. Nothing remains, therefore, but that such restoration could be effected by God alone.

But if God had decided to restore man solely by an act of His will and power, the order of divine justice would not have been observed. justice demands satisfaction for sin. But God cannot render satisfaction, just as He cannot merit. Such a service pertains to one who ...

Day 1 of Advent

The reality of Communion

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The rules and precepts of the Church describe what we would do if we loved God the Father with the love that God the Son has for Him.

If we had love, what we now see as obligations would become the very actions we would desire to do for the sake of that love.

Since we fail to love God as we ought, the Church prescribes what we should be doing so that by doing them, we act out, and grow into, that love we ought to have for God.

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December 16, 2025
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6 Month Daily Wire+ Membership (FREE!)

Hello dear Locals member!

I want to thank you again for your support. And I'm not talking about your hard earned money (though I'm grateful for that!). I'm thankful for you for trusting me during this transition. And more than that, some of you have even come to my defense when haters online have accused me of selling out to those nefarious Jews!

Here's a comment we just got on my interview with Scott Hahn:

"What an absolute delight. I hope that everyone who was throwing shade and casting judgement on the new PWA/DW relationship takes a deep listen to this first post-collaboration episode. Seriously! I feel that having Hahn on speaks volumes to the integrity of PWA and the respect DW has for that integrity." - @arealdonut

Okay ... with that out of the way, I'm happy to annoucne that:

  • Locals members (whether monthly or annual members) will get 6 months of DailyWire+ for free!
  • Existing Daily Wire subscribers will get a 6 month extension on their account. No action needed.
  • If you’re not yet subscribed to DailyWire+, you’ll be sent an email the week of January 5 containing a unique code for 6 months of DailyWire+ for free.
  • If you’re not subscribed to our emails, be sure to go to pintswithaquinas.com/subscribe, scroll to the bottom where it says “sign up to get the Latest”, enter your name and email and click sign up now.

God bless you guys, and thanks again.

Matt

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October 23, 2025
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It's finally here! Jesus Our Refuge 🙌

It’s finally here! 

I’ve been pouring my heart into what I truly believe is an important book—Jesus Our Refuge (get here). It’s the most personal thing I’ve ever written, and my hope is that it helps you find peace and refuge in the heart of Jesus. 

Please consider getting a copy here and reviewing!

P.S. I don’t earn anything from this book. When I wrote it, I knew it had to reach far and wide, so I partnered with a publisher who believes in that mission. Every bit of the royalties I’d have received goes into a fund to give away one million copies for free.

 

 

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What St. Thomas Means by "Curiosity"

In today's livestream I spoke about the sin of curiosity. In this article, I thought I'd sum it up for you in case I didn't do it well in the livestream.

You can read Thomas' own words here, btw. 

For Aquinas, “curiosity” is not simply the healthy desire to know the truth. He distinguishes between the virtue of studiositas—the ordered pursuit of knowledge—and the vice of curiositas, which is the disordered pursuit of knowledge.

Curiosity becomes a vice when we seek knowledge in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons: for pride, idle speculation, gossip, or knowledge that leads us away from God rather than toward Him. For example, indulging in occult practices, probing into sinful matters for fascination, or prying into things that are none of our business (all of social media, or just most?) are all ways that curiosity corrupts the good of knowledge. In other words, knowledge itself is good, but the way we desire, seek, and use it can be distorted.

Aquinas says that curiosity can show itself in several ways: when someone prefers trivial knowledge over what would truly benefit their soul (c'mon ... this is how many people live their lives), when one seeks knowledge to boast or to sin, when one is distracted by an endless hunger for new information at the expense of wisdom, or when one turns to forbidden sources of knowledge.

By contrast, the virtue of studiousness disciplines the intellect so that we seek truth for its own sake, for God’s glory, and for the service of others. Thus, Aquinas sees curiosity not as the love of learning itself, but as the disorder of that love—an appetite for knowing that forgets the proper end of knowledge, which is to lead us to truth and ultimately to God.

So here's a challenge for you and me: What is one practical way that we can avoid curiosity and grow in studiousness?

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